Thanksgiving weekend is filled with the rivalries and season-ending drama. The first weekend in December will determine just about every conference championship.This weekend in college football looks like it has limited potential to shake up the rankings and College Football Playoff chase. But thats also what last weekend looked like and we all know how that turned out.For once, the Big 12 is in the spotlight. The conferences best hopes for making a late push to the College Football Playoff will meet in Morgantown, West Virginia, when the No. 10 Mountaineers face No. 8 Oklahoma.The Sooners (8-2) have the higher ranking but West Virginia, with its 8-1 record, probably has a better path to the playoff. Both teams will need some help as the College Football Playoff committee has not shown itself to be particularly impressed with the conferences best teams.Another game to watch in the Big 12 this week is in Fort Worth, Texas, when No. 13 Oklahoma State faces TCU. The Cowboys are the longest of playoff long shots, weighed down by a loss to Central Michigan that was aided by a blown call by officials. Oklahoma State has already beaten West Virginia and finishes the season against rival Oklahoma.The picks:THURSDAY NIGHT THROWDOWNSNo. 3 Louisville (minus 14) at HoustonLikely the last big-stage game for Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals to show off their stuff to Heisman voters and the selection committee ... HOUSTON 35-28, UPSET SPECIAL.Arkansas State (plus 8+) at No. 25 TroyThe newly ranked Trojans are looking to make it two straight victories in games for first-place in the Sun Belt ... TROY 35-21.FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTSUNLV (plus 28+) at No. 22 Boise StateThe Rebels helped the Broncos a bunch last week by beating Wyoming ... BOISE STATE 45-28.MARQUEE MATCHUPS.No. 8 Oklahoma (minus 2+) at No. 10 West VirginiaThe Mountaineers defense has been solid, but with one major concern: Not much pass rush (17 sacks) ... OKLAHOMA 40-34.No. 20 Washington State (plus 4+) at No. 12 ColoradoMaybe the most unlikely game of the season with playoff implications ... COLORADO 28-27.No. 21 Florida (plus 13+) at No. 16 LSUThe Gators can clinch the SEC East by winning this hurricane-postponed game. The Tigers can give Tennessee the inside track to the division with a win ... LSU 28-12.PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONSNo. 2 Ohio State (minus 22+) at Michigan StateIt has been such a horrible season for the Spartans, but they have Ohio State and Penn State in the next two weeks with a chance to pull a season-salvaging upset. OHIO STATE 35-17.Indiana (plus 23) at No. 4 MichiganThe Wolverines are not built to be quarterback-dependent, which should serve them well against the Hoosiers ... MICHIGAN 42-17.No. 5 Clemson (minus 22+) at Wake ForestThe Demon Deacons defense mucked up both Louisville and Florida State, so the Tigers take Wake seriously ... CLEMSON 28-10.No. 6 Wisconsin (minus 28) at PurdueThe Badgers can win the Big Ten West by winning out ... WISCONSIN 35-13.Arizona State (plus 27) at No. 7 WashingtonThe ideal way for QB Jake Browning and the Huskies to bounce back from their worst game of the season? A home game against the worst pass defense in the Pac-12 ... WASHINGTON 50-21.CONFERENCE CALLSNo. 9 Penn State (minus 28) at RutgersNittany Lions RB Saquon Barkley against the worst rushing defense in the Big Ten ... PENN STATE 45-14.Oregon (plus 14) at No. 11 UtahTwo more games for Mark Helfrich to show he should remain the Ducks coach ... UTAH 46-30.No. 13 Oklahoma State (plus 4) at TCUThe Cowboys have had consecutive great-escape victories to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive ... TCU 35-28.No. 15 Southern California (minus 11) at UCLAThe Trojans are rolling into the rivalry game while the Bruins are just trying to salvage a season ... USC 42-21, BEST BET.No. 17 Florida State (minus 21) at SyracuseIf Clemson and Louisville can make the playoff, Florida State could end up in the Orange Bowl ... FLORIDA STATE 38-24.Maryland (plus 14) at No. 19 NebraskaThe Terps are still looking for win No. 6 for bowl eligibility. Probably not this week, though the Cornhuskers could be without QB Tommy Armstrong ... NEBRASKA 33-17.No. 24 San Diego State (minus 10) at WyomingA victory by Donnel Pumphrey and the Aztecs would help set up a San Diego State-Boise State Mountain West title game, which would help the conferences chances to get a New Years Six bowl bid ... SAN DIEGO STATE 28-17.LATE-SEASON NONCONFERENCEUTSA (plus 27+) at No. 23 Texas A&MThe Aggies look to build a little confidence before a Thanksgiving night game against LSU ... TEXAS A&M 49-21.TWITTER REQUESTSStanford (minus 11) at California -- (at)scurrynChristian McCaffrey against the Bears defense (equals) so many missed tackles ... STANFORD 42-24.Mississippi (minus 10) at Vanderbilt -- (at)jeremiah8712The Rebels can get bowl eligible with a win; the Commodores need to win their last two to get to six victories ... MISSISSIPPI 34-17.Notre Dame (pickem) at Virginia Tech -- (at)hokiesmashThe Hokies have had some perplexing losses, but inconsistency probably should have been expected in their first season with a new coach ... NOTRE DAME 28-27.UConn (plus 7+) at Boston College -- (at)LicatacsThe Eagles can still get bowl-eligible by winning out -- which is remarkable considering how poorly they have played against good competition ... BOSTON COLLEGE 14-10.Harvard (minus 12+) at Yale -- (at)MattSmithCFBThe Crimson need help to win the Ivy League ... HARVARD 34-17.---Record: Last week 14-12 straight; 12-14 vs. points.Season: 163-69; 105-122-3.Upset specials: 3-8.Best bets: 2-9.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.orgNike Vapormax Dame Norge . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Vapormax China . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. http://www.vapormaxnorge.com/ . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Nike Vapormax Plus Norge . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Vapormax Flyknit Dame Norge . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two.RIO DE JANEIRO -- The first time Chloe Dygert stepped aboard the track bike she will be using along with her womens pursuit teammates, she completely missed what caught everybody elses attention.The drive train is on the left side.Yes, just about every bike youve ever seen has the crank on the right, from the high-tech bikes in the Olympic road race to the inexpensive bikes in sporting-goods stores to the itsy-bitsy bikes with training wheels for toddlers just learning to ride.Then it hit me, Dygert said, like, `Oh, yeah! Thats different.USA Cycling, bike manufacturer Felt and several component partners spent more than two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars -- if not millions -- to build the cutting-edge track bike.High-performance coach Neal Henderson said it should save more than 3 seconds off their U.S. squads pursuit time. And that is an eternity considering the women posted a world record of 4 minutes, 16.18 seconds at the world championships in March on their old bikes.Silver medalist Canada and bronze medalist New Zealand were 4 seconds off their pace.We zigged when others zagged, Henderson said with a smile.The drive train is only part of the equation. The bike also takes into consideration specific aerodynamics of a velodrome for the first time, resulting in an asymmetrical stance to account for yaw, specially shaped tubes and high-end carbon that produces a feather-light ride.Its a leap. I wouldnt say its Fosbury Flop-level, Henderson said, referring to Dick Fosburys revolutionary high jump technique, but its an advance.One that could advance the Americans to the top step of the podium.Their pursuit squad that will begin chasing gold Thursday won silver at the London Games, albeit with a significantly different lineup. Sarah Hammer is the only rider back and is joined by a bunch of 19- and 20-somethings in Dygert, Kelly Catlin, Jennifer Valente and Ruth Winder.I didnt take it for granted when I was asked to be on this team, Dygert said.They will be pushed by reigning gold medalist Britain, a powerful team from Canada and a banged-up Australian squad that fell heavily in training Tuesday but is still planning to ccompete.ddddddddddddBut the first order of business is qualifying. The finals do not take place until Saturday.The only medal up for grabs on the opening day of the track program is mens team sprint, where Britain will try to begin a similar gold rush to their one at the London Games.Jason Kenny teamed with Chris Hoy and Philip Hindes to win the team sprint four years ago, and the home nation went on to win seven gold medals during the track program. The powerful showing came after a similarly dominant effort at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.The British team pursuit squad will also be in the velodrome Thursday to begin chasing another gold medal. And some star power returned to the squad in former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, who won the London Games time trial before largely retiring from the road.He is back to his roots on the track, where he won the individual pursuit at the 2004 Athens Games and the Beijing Games, and was part of the team pursuit squad that won gold the same year.Wiggins can break a tie with Hoy and become Britains most decorated Olympian with a medal.Ive gone through this process to try to win a gold medal, really, and anything less than a gold would be a huge disappointment, Wiggins said. Something would have to go seriously wrong.Mark Cavendish and the rest of the British team hit the track later in the program.One of the big questions surrounding the Rio Games was whether the velodrome would be completed in time. The $56 million facility missed several deadlines and went through several contractors, and delays forced the cancellation of a test event scheduled for March.It received mixed reviews from riders who began training there this week.Its a hard track to try and go for the record on just because of the shape, Australian rider Sam Welsford said. Its got longer straights and shorter bends. The venue is incredible, there is still a lot going on -- you see cables laying around all over the place, but all that matters is the track is ready and race day we are ready to go. ' ' '